We fancied some sea birding and the calm, grey conditions encouraged us to head up to the north of the county. For a change we tried Holy Island to start with, and were surprised to see 3
Red-necked Grebes scattered around just off the harbour. I can't remember ever seeing three in a day before let alone in the same place...
Looking from the Heugh, the tide was a bit high so the birds were scattered across the bay, but we did manage to pick up 6
Slavonian Grebes, 20
Long-tailed Ducks and 24
Red-breasted Merganser among others. A group of
Dark-bellied Brent Geese was feeding in the harbour, with a few
Pale-bellied mixed in too, and a
Merlin and
Peregrine were also seen.
Just as we were leaving the island, my dad noticed a pair of
Long-tailed Ducks in the channel by the causeway, so I stopped the car, and was able to walk down to the water's edge while the ducks were below the surface. I was treated to some stunning views down to just a few metres before they flew off as the tide rose. We had lunch at Budle Bay, where the ever-present
Spotted Redshank was feeding on the mud.
On arrival at Stag Rocks, one of the very first birds we looked at was another close in
Red-necked Grebe, while our fifth of the day was further north off Budle Point. I definitely haven't seen five
Red-necked Grebes in a single day in Northumbs before! A
Great Northern Diver showed quite nicely if briefly, 5
Slavonian Grebes included one close bird, and 16 more
Long-tailed Ducks were offshore.
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| Long-tailed Ducks |
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| Pale-bellied Brent Goose with Dark-bellied Brents |
Unfortunately my digiscoping eyepiece is away being fixed at the moment, so there may be some dodgy phonescoped photos on my blog in the next few weeks...
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| Red-necked Grebe off Holy Island |
